


False Reports

by PrioritiesSorted



Series: Kyalin Week 2020 [4]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Crack, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Mutual Pining, look this is just Tenzin getting bullied by lesbians for 3k words, now it's Tenzin getting bullied by lesbians AND his wife for 5k words, yet somehow also
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25999354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrioritiesSorted/pseuds/PrioritiesSorted
Summary: UPDATEDas of 15/11/2020 with Chapter 2: Tenzin and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Morning“It’s good to see Korra so happy, and about time too. I swear, Asami’s been filing false reports with that girl since the new airbenders showed up.”Tenzin followed Kya's gaze out into the courtyard, where Korra was taking a break from practising her forms to lie with her head in Asami’s lap. Itwasgood to see her happy, so he simply hummed in agreement and went back to the scroll he was reading. Kya said a lot of things that Tenzin doesn’t understand, and he’d learned that asking her about them usually ended in ridicule, so on this occasion, he decided against it.In hindsight, asking would have saved him a lot of stress.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato, Lin Beifong/Kya II, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pema/Tenzin (Avatar)
Series: Kyalin Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009128
Comments: 174
Kudos: 1186
Collections: KyaLin Week 2020, cuteass





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I made a tumblr post about this concept a few days and apparently I've written a fic about it now. 
> 
> What can I say, I'm just a lesbian who loves milfs.

The first time Tenzin heard the phrase, he didn’t pay it much mind. Kya was leaning back in her chair, peeling lychees, when she said, 

“It’s good to see Korra so happy, and about time too. I swear, Asami’s been filing false reports with that girl since the new airbenders showed up.” 

Tenzin followed her gaze out into the courtyard, where Korra was taking a break from practising her forms to lie with her head in Asami’s lap. It _was_ good to see her happy, so he simply hummed in agreement and went back to the scroll he was reading. Kya said a lot of things that Tenzin doesn’t understand, and he’d learned that asking her about them usually ended in ridicule, so on this occasion, he decided against it. 

In hindsight, asking would have saved him a lot of stress. 

* * *

It had been surprisingly quiet since the rebuilding of Republic City, due in no small part to the forward-thinking social policies of its new president, Zhu Li. Nevertheless, the police station still had a couple of drunks in the tank, and Mako wasn’t the only officer taking a statement from a civilian that morning. He was, however, the only officer having to deal with this particular kind of civilian. If he’d only taken those two extra minutes on his tea break, he wouldn’t be having to deal with this. He’d given Miss Lao the benefit of the doubt initially, of course he had, but the longer she talked the more certain Mako became that this one was of _those_ statements, and he’d promptly zoned out. 

“And can you describe the man who stole your handbag?” Mako asked, knowing that the answer would be nebulous at best, and unrealistically specific at worst. He glanced towards the entrance, and was surprised to see Tenzin striding towards him. Mako flashed him a quick, apologetic smile, and Tenzin settled into a seat near his desk. 

“Um—yeah, yeah.” Miss Lao said, fiddling with the trim on the edge of her shawl. “He was—uh—tall, and he had black hair, probably from the fire—no—earth nation. Yeah.” Nebulous it was—wonderful. “Yeah it almost felt like he pulled it out of my hands without even touching it, like he was a metalbender! That’s pretty serious, right?” 

“If there was a metalbender committing robbery in the city that would be pretty serious, yes,” Mako agreed. If only there actually _was_ a metalbender stealing the handbags of random women, he thought wistfully. It would certainly give him something better to do than sit in the office all day taking statements from whoever wandered in. 

“Right! It’s _very_ serious,” Miss Lao continued. “So don’t you think—don’t you think maybe I should talk to the Chief about it?” 

And there it was. 

“Okay, Miss Lao, there are three ways this can go,” Mako said, in his best Officer of the Law voice. “Perhaps you’re just a little flustered, but you’re telling the truth, in which case I will turn your case over to one of my colleagues, and we’ll do our best to get your handbag back to you. Alternatively, we can investigate this story while you hang around the station, trying to sneak into the Chief’s office, until we eventually have no choice but to charge you with filing a false report.” Miss Lao tensed, and Mako knew he had her. He softened his voice as he continued, “or finally, you can tell me to throw out these notes, and it was like you were never here.” 

Miss Lao’s gaze flicked to The Chief’s closed office door and back to Mako before she gave a small nod.

“The last one,” she mumbled, and Mako smiled as he dropped the new file into the trash can next to his desk. 

“Alright, Miss Lao, have a nice day.” 

He watched her rush out of the station, stopping briefly as she caught sight of Tenzin. Her glare was so sudden and forceful that Mako almost laughed aloud at the shock on Tenzin’s face. 

“Honestly, I don’t know how you did it,” he said, but Tenzin only frowned. 

“Did what?” 

“Dated the Chief for so long without getting taken out by lust-crazed women,” Mako joked. “That was our third false report this week. I swear it’s like they think we’ve got nothing better to do. Are you here for her or is there something I can help you with?” 

Tenzin looked pained, glancing after Miss Lao briefly before asking if Mako and the Chief were free for dinner at Air Temple Island. Mako could have kissed him; it had been a long week, and he’d been planning on picking up some take out noodles and listening to the radio all evening. Good company and some of Pema’s cooking sounded like a much better option. 

“That sounds like just what the Chief and I need,” Mako told him. “I’ll make sure she takes the evening off.” 

Tenzin only nodded, leaving the station as abruptly as he had entered, but looking a good deal more confused. Mako supposed that was a mystery for later. 

* * *

When Tenzin returned to Air Temple Island, Meelo had somehow managed to cover Rohan in mud from head to toe, and he didn’t have much space to think about the strange woman at the police station. In fact, the whole episode had almost vanished from his mind when Pema asked how many places they ought to set for dinner. 

“Mako’s coming and he said he’d bring Lin along too,” Tenzin told her, and Pema nodded, pleased, as she added two more plates to the stack in Kya’s arms. “Hopefully we’ll be able to coax her out of work more often now that crime is so low. There was even a woman there this morning feeding Mako a completely made up story about a robbery. He says it’s the third they’ve had this week! People really do have too much time on their hands.” 

“Those poor women,” Pema said with a smile, handing Tenzin a tray of chopsticks and small bowls. “You’d think they would have given up by now.” 

“Oh, they won’t give up until she’s taken.” Kya grinned, and Pema raised an eyebrow at her. 

“If only there was someone who could help with that,” Pema said, and Tenzin could swear Kya cheeks darkened as she bumped Pema’s hip with her own. 

“I’m working on it,” she muttered, and Tenzin frowned. 

“Are you talking about Lin? Mako mentioned—” Tenzin cast his mind back to their conversation earlier, still unable to make sense of it. He’d been worried, at the police station, that the woman might have been trying to harm Lin, to get her alone and defenseless (or at least, as defenseless and Lin ever was). But surely that couldn’t be the case—Pema and Kya would never make so light of such a situation. “I still don’t see what she’s got to do with all of this.” 

Pema and Kya exchanged a loaded glance before Pema smiled and said, 

“I’ll leave you to explain that one, Kya dear.” 

She herded Kya and Tenzin into the dining room, sliding the door closed behind them. The bamboo creaked, and Kya fixed Tenzin with a long, searching look before she set the stack of plates down carefully on the table. 

“You really don’t know about the false reports?” Kya asked conversationally as she began laying out the plates, and Tenzin could only shake his head. 

“Huh,” said Kya, “I’m surprised she never told you, but then I guess she wouldn’t have thought it particularly important.” There was a bitterness in her voice, Tenzin thought, barely noticeable, but there nonetheless. “A few years after Lin took over as Chief, the station started getting a string of false reports, all made by women. Usually theft, but sometimes they’d claim they were being followed. The officers looked into them all, of course, but could never find any perpetrator. That’s not uncommon when it comes to robbery, as far as I know, so no-one picked up on it for a while.” Tenzin nodded in agreement, remembering evenings spent listening to Lin rant about the difficulty of recovering stolen property. “Then Saikhan noticed that in a lot of the unsolved robberies, the women would request that Lin personally deal with the case. Now, more often than not they weren’t reporting anything nearly big enough for Lin to deal with personally, but Saikhan spoke to Lin about it, and they found the pattern concerning enough to try to get to the bottom of it. They decided that the next time a woman came in with a petty case hoping that the Chief will deal with it personally, Lin would get on the case, just to see what would happen.” 

“Surely they would never risk something so dangerous?” Tenzin interrupted, but Kya only smirked back at him. 

“Oh there was a bunch of extra security happening in the background,” Kya explained, waving a plate around as if in demonstration. “They weren’t ruling out the possibility that it was a ploy to assassinate Lin, or something equally dangerous. A few weeks later a girl came in with the same old story, asking for Lin to look at it personally. So Lin assigned herself the case, and almost as soon as this girl got in her office, she started flirting with Lin.” 

_Flirting?_ Tenzin stopped where he was, bowl suspended in the air, halfway to the table. Did he hear that correctly? 

“Nothing huge at first,” Kya continued, oblivious, “just a lot of eyelash fluttering, twirling her hair around her fingers, all that kind of thing. But when Lin got up to show her out, this girl pretended to trip over her chair, and sent herself flying into Lin’s arms. Even Lin’s not dense enough to misread something like that, and she sent the girl packing pretty sharpish. But it didn’t stop happening. Lin wound up getting pretty fed up, and started charging them with filing false reports, wasting police time, all that kind of thing. But even that didn’t discourage them, and now she’s given up,” Kya shrugged, “says it’s too much paperwork. Are you ever going to put that bowl down?” 

Tenzin looked at the bowl still in his hand, and dropped it onto the mat beneath, only managing to catch it with his bending at the last moment. 

“So you’re saying that women go to the police station and report made up crimes all in some attempt to… get under Lin’s uniform?” 

This was absolutely not where he thought this conversation would lead. Admittedly, Tenzin still didn’t know where he _had_ expected this conversation to lead, but it definitely wasn’t this.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Kya said, grinning like she knew exactly what she'd just done. “It actually happens so frequently that ‘filing a false report’ is a pretty popular saying in the community for trying to get a girl’s attention.” 

That was too much, Kya had to be messing with him. There was simply no way that _that many_ women were queuing at the station just to throw themselves at Lin. 

“You’re saying,” he repeated, “that—that Lin is so irresistible, women would commit a crime just for a chance to flirt with her?” 

“I don’t know why you’re surprised,” Kya said, as though this was widely accepted general knowledge. Tenzin couldn’t help remembering all the tricks she had played on him in their youth. Bumi has been terrible at it, giving the game away before Tenzin could be fully ensnared in whatever trap had been set, but Kya was always cool as a cucumber. This had to be another one of her games. It had to be. 

“Of course I’m surprised!” Tenzin exclaimed. “Kya, be serious, you must know how ridiculous that sounds.” 

He was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and the pair turned in unison as Asami stuck her head into the room, pulling Korra in after her. 

“Perfect!” Kya cried. “Ladies, come in, I need to prove a point.” 

“Kya—” Tenzin started to say, but Kya barrelled on. 

“Lin. What are your thoughts on her?” 

Korra frowned, 

“You mean generally, or?” 

‘Sexually,” Kya clarified, and Tenzin didn’t even have time to protest that surely the girls were too young to be interested in someone Lin’s age before Asami said, 

“I’ve had at least five dreams about other things she could do with those cables.” 

Tenzin only stared, shocked that Asami would make such a declaration in view of her girlfriend, until Korra nodded in fervent agreement. 

“Oh yeah. I know we didn’t exactly get along when I first got here—and I didn’t know I liked women—but I definitely still kind of hoped that one of our arguments would end with her slamming me against a wall, y’know?” 

Tenzin really could have gone his whole life without knowing that. He could feel Kya’s triumphant gaze on the back of his head, and he knew his mouth was hanging slightly open. 

“Is there a reason for this particular line of questioning?” Asami asked, sliding her arm around Korra’s waist. 

“Tenzin just found out what ‘filing a false report’ is, and he doesn’t believe Lin is really _that_ attractive to queer women.” Kya explained, and Korra let out an undignified snort of laughter. 

“Spirits, she really was wasted on you, huh?” 

_Perhaps she was._ Tenzin knew Lin was beautiful, of course he did, but he also remembered finding Pema’s softness so attractive after being with Lin for so long—not just in her personality, but her body, as well. He’d liked her round face and the fat on her belly, which seemed so welcoming after Lin and all her hard edges. He grasped for a reply, finally managing to stutter, 

“Look—I—I was with her for over ten years, clearly I think she’s—she’s a good looking woman, I just don’t understand what’s so irresistible to uh—” he gestured vaguely at Kya, Korra, and Asami, “women of a certain persuasion.” 

“It’s the biceps,” Asami said, at precisely the same time as Korra suggested, 

“The scars,” and Kya outright sighed, 

“She looks damn good in that uniform.” 

Tenzin needed to sit down. 

* * *

There was a strange energy on Air Temple Island when Lin arrived for dinner. Mako had insisted, and for the first time in a long time, there really wasn’t anything that Lin could claim was more important that needed her attention. Almost as soon as they arrived, though, people had started acting oddly. Bolin and Opal were disgusting as usual, and the airbending kids were all much as they had ever been, but Tenzin seemed barely able to look her in the face. Korra and Asami were acting strangely, too, though perhaps that was just a facet of their new relationship. There was something off about Kya as well, though Lin tried not to think too hard about Kya, as a general rule, because it made her feel… messy. Perhaps most disturbingly, Pema was smiling like she knew precisely what was up, and was more than happy to let everyone stew in it. 

Lin glanced at Mako, wondering if he had noticed the same strangeness, but he was already deep in conversation with Bolin about something that Lin didn’t care to involve herself with. 

By the time they were all herded into the dining room, and the food was served, Lin was crawling with tension. She’d found herself sat next to Kya, and despite her armour, Lin could swear she felt every slight touch of Kya’s arm against her own, the soft brush of her hair when she turned. 

It certainly didn’t help that Tenzin kept looking at her. He wouldn’t make eye-contact, hadn’t the whole evening, but she felt his gaze on her every time she turned to talk to Kya, or Jinora. It felt almost like it had when they were teenagers, and he couldn't work up the nerve to ask her on a date, though she knew that would hardly be the reason now. After ten minutes, she’d had enough. 

“What is it, Tenzin?” she said, sharply, and the table went quiet. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Asami smother a giggle behind her napkin. 

“Nothing, sorry Lin,” Tenzin mumbled, looking studiously at his plate.

“Tenzin found out about the false reports earlier today. He’s still processing,” Kya said, helpfully, and Lin groaned. She’d done her best to make sure Tenzin never knew about her little fan club while they were together, and she supposed he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to find out since then. She’d barely spoken to him for fifteen years, and the recent renewal of their friendship had been mostly overshadowed by spirit portals and terrorists and protecting the Avatar. 

“I thought that had stopped,” she said, but Mako shook his head somberly. 

“Three this week, Chief,” he said, his mouth still half full of rice. “I could swear all the queer women in the city have given it a shot at some point.” 

It had felt like that, sometimes, but Lin had tried to avoid thinking about it as much as possible. Thinking about the sheer number of women who seemed to find her irresistible inevitably led to thinking about the one who didn’t. 

“Not _all_ of them,” Lin muttered, unable to stop herself glancing over at Kya as she did so. Spirits, she should just leave, she was so painfully, embarrassingly obvious in her feelings, and she didn’t need to be rejected by _another_ of her childhood friends. Before she could make a move, though, Kya sighed dramatically, 

“Oh Chief Beifong,” Kya exclaimed, putting a hand to her forehead in a feigned swoon, “I think someone is planning to steal my ancient waterbending scroll tonight. I dare not sleep alone!” She collapsed against Lin, her warm cheek against Lin’s chest, and her arms around Lin’s shoulders. 

“Very funny, Kya,” Lin said, half-heartedly shrugging her off. Kya started to sit back up, but not before resting a hand on Lin’s thigh and saying quietly, 

“You know it’s only a joke if you want it to be.” 

Lin didn’t need to be a truth-seer to feel the frantic beat of Kya’s heart as she spoke and—okay—Lin had not known that. 

* * *

Lin Beifong was _blushing._ Lin Beifong, his ex girlfriend, was blushing and letting Kya trail her fingers over the armour she was still, for some reason, wearing. Lin Beifong, apparently the most sought after woman in Republic City, was sitting at his dinner table, flirting with his sister. Tenzin felt his own face redden, and Pema laid a gentle hand on his arm. 

“Keep breathing, my love,” she reminded him, gently. Then, because apparently she had always secretly hated him: “what do you think Lin will want for breakfast tomorrow?” 


	2. Tenzin and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For one blissful moment when Tenzin woke up, he had completely forgotten the events of the previous evening. When he first opened his bleary eyes, still sleep-warm and relaxed, he had not yet remembered everything he had learned about Lin, and about his sister, and about Lin and his sister. Tenzin sat bolt upright as the memory flooded back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I wasn't going to write a follow up to this, but then I saw the Kyalin Week prompt for Day 7 and... this happened. 
> 
> So... Kyalin Week Day 7: Getting Caught

For one blissful moment when Tenzin woke up, he had completely forgotten the events of the previous evening. When he first opened his bleary eyes, still sleep-warm and relaxed, he had not yet remembered everything he had learned about Lin, and about his sister, and about _Lin and his sister._ Tenzin sat bolt upright as the memory flooded back. A warm hand came up to stroke his back, and Pema muttered sleepily, 

“What is it, Tenzin?” 

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Tenzin replied absently. “Just… Did we have everyone over for dinner last night?” 

“Yes, dear.” 

“Including Lin?” 

“Including Lin, dear.” 

“Oh. I was hoping I’d dreamed that.” 

“No, dear.” 

“Ah, I see.” There was a long pause. “I’m going to go and meditate for a little while.” 

“That’s probably for the best, dear.” Pema patted his arm sleepily. 

The air on the clifftop was bracing, and Tenzin felt better almost instantly. Sitting cross-legged beneath his favourite tree, he gazed out at the open ocean. Usually, he found it fairly easy to empty his mind, to let go of his frustrations and anxieties, but this morning he could not stop the events of the previous evening from swimming to the front of his mind. He knew it ought not to bother him so much; it had certainly been shocking, but on reflection he supposed it wasn’t _so_ difficult to believe. Lin was a remarkable woman, after all, and he’d always thought she deserved more recognition. Perhaps he hadn’t been envisioning quite this _kind_ of recognition, but it was positive nonetheless. 

It was the _Kya_ of it all that had really bothered him, Tenzin decided. But despite Pema’s teasing, Lin had not stayed on the island last night. In any case, who was he to assume what was going on between Lin and his sister? Kya had always been… _exuberant._ It might all have been a joke, or a little bit of harmless flirtation. Even if that _wasn’t_ the case, Tenzin reminded himself, he loved them both, and wanted them to be happy. If they could be happy with anyone _other_ than each other, that would have been preferable but if not… Tenzin supposed he would eventually become accustomed to it. 

He felt a little more at ease as the morning grew warmer, and by the time Pema called him in for breakfast, Tenzin was feeling almost himself again. The children were already tucking in enthusiastically when Tenzin entered, and Pema was busy making tea at the stove. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head. 

“Feeling better?” she asked, and he smiled. 

“Much, thank you.” 

“Good. Can you go and get Kya for me? I don’t know if she heard me call everyone in.” 

“Of course.” 

Kya often slept later than the rest of the family, and Tenzin tried his best not to be irritated by it. She was a waterbender, after all, and the nights tended to leave her restless. He knocked gently on her door, but received no answer. Though Tenzin knew he _could_ leave her to sleep, he also knew that if he did so, Kya would end up going without breakfast. This in turn would inevitably lead to Kya ferreting around the kitchen later that afternoon, grabbing handfuls of whatever dried fruit she could find, and getting in Pema’s way. He sighed, and reached for the handle. 

Tenzin slid the door open, immediately regretted it, and slammed it shut as quickly as possible. He stood there, frozen for a moment, desperately trying to purge what he had just seen from his memory. He squeezed his eyes shut—far too late—but that seemed to have the opposite effect, as the image worked to imprint itself on the backs of his eyelids. He let out a deeply undignified yelp of distress as he hurried back down the corridor towards the kitchen. 

Tenzin settled shakily onto a mat at the table. Pema was saying something, perhaps asking a question, but her words sounded like so much white noise. Tenzin only stared forward, trying to summon something— _anything_ —with which to fill his mind. He very consciously was _not_ thinking about Lin, or about his sister, or about what his sister’s head had been doing between Lin’s legs. Furthermore, he absolutely, certainly, _categorically_ was not thinking about how impressive Lin’s physique was for a woman of her age. 

Tenzin needed to sit down. 

“You’re already sitting down, Dad,” said Jinora, peering at him over the top of her book. Apparently he had said that out loud. 

“Well I need to sit… more down.” 

“Are you okay, Daddy?” Ikki asked, and Tenzin nodded vaguely. There was really no way to explain to his children that he’d just found himself face to— _well_ —with parts of Lin Beifong he had not seen in a very long time. Instead, he looked up at Pema and said, 

“It seems Lin stayed the night after all.” 

Pema raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised, before saying, 

“Head between your knees then, dear.” Tenzin almost took her advice before he noticed the wry smile on his wife’s face, and realised she was mocking him. 

“Chief’s here?” Meelo asked, raising his head from his breakfast for the first time that morning. 

“Yes,” Tenzin confirmed weakly. 

“With Aunt Kya?” 

“ _Obviously_ with Aunt Kya.” Ikki said, before Tenzin was forced to answer. 

“Oh,” said Meelo. “Then why is Dad so upset?” 

Tenzin and Pema exchanged a brief, frantic look before Ikki answered. 

“He must have seen them _kissing,_ obviously.” Ikki had turned thirteen the previous month, and everything was now considered to be _obvious._

“Why’s _that_ such a big deal? I have to see Jinora kiss Kai every single day!” Meelo mimed gagging, and Jinora glared at him over the top of her book. 

“Kai’s not your ex boyfriend though, is he Meelo?” Jinora said archly, and Meelo frowned. 

“I guess not.” He seemed to be deep in thought for a few moments—a rare occurrence where Meelo was concerned—before he decided, “It would definitely be even grosser if he was. My condolences, Dad.” he reached up to pat Tenzin on the arm, and Tenzin smiled weakly back at him, relieved to have dodged at least _one_ fireball this morning. 

Said relief was short lived, though, as the door slid open and Mako stuck his head gingerly into the room, a small cardboard box in his arms. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” 

“Nonsense, Mako, you’re always welcome. Have you eaten? You must have been up awfully early.” Pema said as she ushered Mako into the room. He shook his head. 

“I just got off the night shift, so it’s late for me. Chief asked me to swing by and drop this off.” He gestured to the box he was carrying, and seemed determined not to meet Tenzin’s eye. “It’s just uh—the stuff she keeps in the station for when she falls asleep at her desk. Toothbrush, fresh—uh—tank top…” Mako tailed off with a blush. “Where is she? I’ll go take them—” 

“No!” Tenzin exclaimed as Mako moved towards the door. “No um—you can just leave that here. I wouldn’t uh—I wouldn’t recommend—” 

“Dad saw the Chief and Aunt Kya _kissing_ just now.” Meelo told Mako, sagely. “He’s a little rattled.” 

“Ah,” said Mako, meeting Tenzin’s gaze. “ _Kissing,_ huh?” Something about the deep horror in Tenzin’s expression must have clued him in to the truth, because he frowned sympathetically. “That’s rough, buddy.” 

“Hey Dad, maybe Mako can help you out!” Meelo yelled suddenly, causing Tenzin to drop his spoon and perhaps the last of his sanity. “Both hisex-girlfriends are dating each other now.” 

Mako was blushing furiously, and Jinora kicked Meelo under the table. 

“What?” said Meelo, “There might be a group he can join.” 

“You know what, Meelo?” Jinora said, suddenly. “Why don’t we all go down and see the new baby bison?” 

Without waiting for an answer, she scooped Rohan into her arms and ushered her siblings from the room. She shot him a sympathetic look as they all filed outside, and Tenzin thanked the spirits for his eldest daughter, before horrible realisation—that Jinora probably knew a good deal more than her siblings about exactly what was going on—dawned. 

Tenzin wondered whether it was possible to drown oneself in congee. He figured it was worth a shot. Before he could try, though, things got immeasurably worse. 

“Morning!” Kya said cheerfully as she entered. Lin followed behind her, at least having the decency to look a little embarrassed. They both looked as if they had dressed in a hurry—was Lin wearing a pair of Kya’s trousers?—but thankfully there were no other signs of what Tenzin had so unfortunately walked in on. 

“Morning, ladies,” Pema greeted them, with what Tenzin thought was a little too much enthusiasm. “You hungry?” 

Kya grinned, and her gaze flicked to Tenzin in a way that made his stomach fill with dread before she said, 

“Nah, I’ve already eaten.” 

Tenzin felt a vein pop out from his forehead, and Lin flushed a deep pink. Mako let out a slightly strangled noise, and Lin whipped around. 

“Mako. You’re here,” Lin said. 

“I—uh—I brought your things, Chief.” He proffered the box, and Lin snatched it from his grip. 

“Thank you, Detective.” 

“Uh, no problem, Chief.” 

There was a long silence, during which Lin and Mako simply stared at each other. Neither broke eye contact, though it was clear that each desperately wanted to. 

“You’re dismissed,” Lin said, eventually. Mako nodded. 

“Chief.” 

“Detective.”

Mako all but fled from the room as Kya stifled a snort of laughter behind her hand. At least _someone_ was finding all of this amusing. 

“I’m just going to—uh—go and—” Lin raised the box. “Thanks for breakfast, Pema.” 

No one felt the need to point out that Lin hadn’t had any breakfast as she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her with a small slam. 

Kya stretched, settling onto a mat with an infuriating ease. 

“Hey Pema, I think your husband’s about to pass out.” 

Tenzin could only _dream_ of passing out. 

“Oh no, he’s just processing,” Pema said, waving her hand vaguely in his direction. 

“Does that mean he’s not going to eat that?” Kya said, pointing to the bowl of congee—his last hope of escape—in front of Tenzin. 

“Probably not,” Pema supplied, helpfully, and Kya leaned across the table to pluck the bowl from under Tenzin’s nose. 

“But you said—” Tenzin began to splutter, before he could think better of it. Kya smirked at him over her spoon. 

“What was it I said, Tenzin?” she asked, shoving a spoonful into her mouth. 

Tenzin did not deign to reply. 

“You know,” Kya said, conversationally, twirling her spoon around in Tenzin’s breakfast. “You really brought all of this on yourself. Usually, when no-one answers after you knock, it is not an invitation to enter.” 

“Well I don’t—usually you—” Tenzin stammered. He looked to Pema for support, but she only looked at him as though he was one of the children when they’d done something mildly naughty. 

He was spared—as much as he could be spared from _anything_ that morning—having to continue the conversation by Lin re-entering, looking much more put together, and fully armoured. Tenzin found the presence of the armour oddly comforting—when she had it on her could almost pretend he hadn’t seen her naked in the last nineteen years. 

“Am I still seeing you for dinner tonight?” Kya asked, as Pema passed Lin a cup of tea. Her infuriating smugness was gone, and the question sounded oddly vulnerable. 

“If you want,” said Lin. Tenzin knew from experience that this was Lin for ‘I desperately want that’. “I’ll meet you at the restaurant at seven.”

Kya grinned.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I’ll be meeting you at the station. Gotta start making it known you’re off the market.” 

Lin flushed a delicate, pleased pink, though she rolled her eyes in faux-exasperation. 

“Sure. Can you bring the box of stuff I left in your room? It’ll look suspicious if I do it.” 

“You’re not staying?” Kya asked, and Tenzin couldn’t help the strangled noise he emitted. 

Lin—the _traitor_ —laughed. 

“You can come to mine. Tenzin doesn’t need traumatizing any further.” She winked— _winked!_ —at him before she drained the tea from her cup and leaned down to press a brief kiss to Kya’s lips. “See you later.” 

Kya made no response, only gazed up at Lin as though she were some kind of pleasant apparition, one she wasn’t entirely sure she was really seeing. Lin smiled softly back at her, an expression that Tenzin hadn’t seen in far longer than he cared to remember. They stayed there for a moment, faces inches apart, before Lin swept from the room. She looked back briefly at Kya, whose body was unconsciously leaning towards the door, and smiled once more before she disappeared from view. 

It was almost sweet, for half a second, before Kya turned back to Tenzin. 

“Don’t expect me for dinner tonight,” she said with a victorious smirk, “or breakfast tomorrow.” 

Tenzin looked from Kya to Pema—who has giving him a look that was half encouragement, half warning—and back again before he grumbled, 

“Just make sure you’re back in time to fight off the hordes of jealous, vengeful lesbians, won’t you?” 

Kya’s eyes widened in surprise before she let out a bark of laughter. 

“I think I can manage that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this... lived up to expectations?


End file.
